Category Archives: Plants

Nature’s Bird Food and Other October Delights

Phenology, Plants, Trees, Weather & Sky
Rose hips, Frick Park, 3 October 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

This October there are plentiful fruits and seeds for migrating birds in Pittsburgh. Virginia creeper, porcelain berry, and rose hips (above) provide food for cedar waxwings and robins.

Pine siskins invaded southwestern Pennsylvania this week! Many of you are reporting them at your backyard feeders while natural food sources, such as arborvitae, have created pine siskin hotspots. Siskins force open the cones with their sharp beaks and pick out the seeds.

These arborvitae cones were on the ground at a pine siskin hotspot. Three stages are pictured: Top = Spent cones as much as one year old, Middle = Opened cones that were emptied by pine siskins, Bottom = a mix of closed, opened and spent cones.

Arborvitae cones that fell on N Dithridge Street thanks to pine siskins, 9 Oct 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

The huge acorn crop in Schenley Park is attracting many blue jays, squirrels and chipmunks. Here’s what the ground looks like below the oaks at Bartlett Shelter.

Many, many acorns, Bartlett Shelter Schenley Park, 7 Oct 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

In other delights October trees, sky and shadows are spectacular.

Fall colors, Schenley Park, 7 Oct 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Long shadows, Schenley Park, 7 Oct 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Fall color in Frick Park, 6 Oct 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Dead hickory points to the moon, 8 Oct 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

It’s a good time to be outdoors.

(photos by Kate St. John)

September Ends With Signs Of Fall

Phenology, Plants
Fallen leaves at the Botany Hall fountain, Phipps Conservatory, 30 Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Signs of fall increased this week as late September gave way to October.

Fallen leaves floated on the bubbling fountain at Botany Hall, Phipps Conservatory. Leaves on Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum) began turning yellow.

Joe-Pye weed, Lower Nine Mile Run, Frick Park, 2 October 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) is red.

Poison ivy, Ferncliff Peninsula, Ohiopyle, 28 Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Queen Anne’s lace (Darcus carota) now holds its seed capsules in a bundle, each one with tiny spines that cling to passing animals, including humans.

Queen Anne’s lace seed head, 30 Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

And finally, parasites take advantage of late season leaves. The red oak leaf below has two kinds of parasites: tiny galls and (I think) a fungus.

Oak leaf with galls and fungus, 29 Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

The weather is beautiful … after today’s fog burns off. Don’t forget to get outdoors!

(photos by Kate St. John)

(*) The fountain in front of Botany Hall is my very favorite because it invites me to lay my hands flat on the water’s surface. It bubbles up gently from a central pump and drips over the edge.

Woolly Aphids Wouldn’t Boogie Woogie

Phenology, Plants
Woolly aphids that didn’t move, Frick Park, 25 Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

26 September 2020

Yesterday at Frick Park I found woolly aphids that wouldn’t move. This was a disappointment because I expected them to boogie woogie (like this!). They had all the right characteristics. They were:

  • White and fluffy,
  • Clinging to narrow branches, in this case shrub-like tree trunks,
  • There was a black substance on the trunk below their colony, sooty mold that grows on their accumulated honeydew.
  • Bees and yellowjackets were feeding on the honeydew seep.

Here are two more photos showing them individually and collectively.

Woolly aphids that didn’t move, Frick Park, 25 Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Woolly aphids that didn’t move, Frick Park, 25 Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

I tried to get them to dance but they refused. I believe they were on alders so that would make them woolly alder aphids.

If you’d like to see them for yourself, look below eye level on slender trunks of shrubs next to Nine Mile Run about 20 steps to the left of the park bench that views the creek. Approximately here: 40.427685, -79.901373.

Maybe they’ll boogie woogie for you.

(photos by Kate St. John)

Signs of Fall

Plants, Schenley Park, Weather & Sky
Sun rays on a misty morning in Schenley Park, 8 Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

20 September 2020

Fall is in the air in Pittsburgh as sun rays peek through autumn mist in Schenley Park.

Below, though the large ash trees have died of emerald ash borer the small ones still put out leaves that turn unique colors. These are on their way from yellow to lavender.

White ash leaves turn a variety of colors in fall, Schenley Park, 18 Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Teasel flower heads (dipsacus sp.) have dried, leaving the husk that’s a “natural comb for cleaning, aligning and raising the nap on fabrics, particularly wool.” It’s hard to imagine holding this prickly husk to do the job. Use gloves, of course.

All summer we noticed curly dock (Rumex crispus) leaves and not the flowers. Now our attention is reversed because the seeds have turned a rich brown. The stalk is ugly, however the seeds are fascinating up close, each one surrounded by the calyx that produced them. The papery wings allow them to float on water and fly a bit in the wind.

Curly dock, gone to seed, Schenley Park, 17 Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

The most obvious sign of fall is the temperature. 43 degrees F at dawn today. Speaking of gloves, you’ll need them when you go birding in the morning.

(photos by Kate St. John)

Nature’s Moisture Indicators

Plants
Norway spruce cone, closed (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Pines cones open and close in response to moisture. Above, a closed Norway spruce cone. Below, an open one.

Norway spruce cone, open (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

If a cone is closed is it wetter than one that’s open?

On Throw Back Thursday find out in this quiz: Which Cone is Wetter?

Or bypass the quiz and watch this video.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the originals)

September Poison Ivy Quiz

Plants
Photo#1: Is this poison ivy? (photo by Kate St. John)

On a walk last week I encountered two plants with poison ivy’s telltale three-leaf arrangement including a long stem on the middle leaf. One was poison ivy, the other was not.

Here they are, shown at top and below. Which one is poison ivy?

Photo#2: Is this poison ivy? (photo by Kate St. John)

Here’s another clue in two more photos — leaves and fruit. One is poison ivy, one is not.

Photo#3: Is this poison ivy? (photo by Kate St. John)
Photo#4: One of the plants has samaras (photo by Kate St. John)

Poison ivy bears fruit in berries that turn white in the fall. The mystery look-alike plant bears fruit as samaras.

Quiz! For each of the four photos tell me if it’s poison ivy. (Use photo# in the caption.)

Bonus: What’s the name of the not-poison-ivy plant?

(photos by Kate St. John)

Porcelain and Primrose

Insects, Fish, Frogs, Phenology, Plants, Schenley Park
Porcelain berry, Three Rivers Heritage Trail, 7 Sep 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

In September porcelain berry’s (Ampelopsis glandulosa) beautiful porcelain-like fruits show why the plant was imported as an ornamental.

Porcelainberry, 3 Rivers Heritage Trail in Pittsburgh, 7 Sep 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Unfortunately this Asian vine is terribly invasive, engulfing small trees and draping itself over large ones.

Porcelain berry drapes a hillside in Schenley Park (photo by Kate St. John)

Some people call it “wild grape” but you’ll never see grapes on it. Just porcelain berries.

This month you’ll find common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) blooming in meadows, along roads and bike trails. The name implies that it opens only in the evening but I photographed these at midday. The flowers are 1-2 inches wide. The plants are hard to miss at six feet tall.

Common evening primrose, Eliza Furnace Trail, 7 Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Common evening primrose buds, Eliza Furnace Trail, 7 Sept 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Meanwhile, bug love continues. This pair of goldenrod soldier beetles (also called Pennsylvania leatherwing (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus)) are perched on a flower in the Aster family while working to continue their species.

Spend time outdoors this week while the weather is good. Autumn is beautiful and all too short.

p.s. Thank you to Monica Miller and John English for correcting my bug identification mistake!

p.p.s. Did you notice that Pennsylvania is misspelled in the bug’s scientific name (only 1 ‘n’). This is not the only species with this misspelling. Can you name another?

(photos by Kate St. John)

From Flowers To Beans

Plants

On 29 August I posed the question “How do wild senna flowers become shiny green bean pods?” Last week I decided to find out.

Wild senna (Senna hebecarpa) flowers grow in bunches on a tall stem.

Each flower holds the secret to the bean. In the closeup below you see irregular yellow petals, stamens with brown anthers, and a tiny green stem with fuzzy white edges — the pistil. Instead of a single ovary at the base of the pistil there’s apparently a row of ovaries inside.

When the flower is fertilized, the yellow petals fall off. The stamens and pistil remain.

As the fuzzy green pistil grows the anthers fall off

Though still fuzzy, the former pistil begins to look like a bean pod.

The remaining twigs fall off, the bean pods lose their fuzz and Ta Dah!

Wild senna gone to seed (photo by Kate St. John)

The secret is that row of ovaries.

(photos by Kate St. John)

Yellow Leaves, Seeds and Goats

Musings & News, Phenology, Plants, Schenley Park
Spicebush hints at autumn, Schenley Park, 26 Aug 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

29 August 2020

It’s beginning to look like fall is coming though it hasn’t felt that way. This past week was hot and muggy yet spicebush leaves are starting to turn yellow and many flowers have gone to seed.

Wild senna (Senna hebecarpa) now has long green bean pods.

Wild senna seed pods, Schenley Park, 27 Aug 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

How did these flowers transform into beans?

Wild senna illustration (image from Wikimedia Commons)

Meanwhile at Frick Park the goats and their guard donkey are back in the large enclosure at Clayton East, munching away at invasive plants. The black goat at the fence is eating mile-a-minute weed on the fencing. Yay!

The goats are back! Frick Park, 28 Aug 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

For more information about the goats see this month’s announcement. If you’d like to see the goats at work here’s a map of Frick Park’s Clayton area and the goats’ approximate location.

(photos by Kate St. John and from Wikimedia Commons; see the captions for photo credits)

August Flowers, Spotty Rain

Plants, Schenley Park, Weather & Sky
Tansy at the meadow at Frick Park, 14 Aug 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

This week brought a profusion of August flowers and very localized rain.

Above, tansy’s rayless flower heads look like daisies without petals. Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) has only one kind of flower — the small yellow ones in the central disk. Daisies have two kinds — the central disk plus white flower rays.

Below, cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum) is blooming in Schenley Park showing off the cupped leaves that give it its name.

Cup plant, Schenley Park, 10 Aug 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)
Leaves join at the stem to make a cup on cup plant, Schenley Park, 10 Aug 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe) is invasive but the flower sure is pretty.

Spotted knapweed, Frick Park meadow, 14 Aug 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

Asiatic dayflower (Commelina communis) can be invasive, too, though the flower lasts only a day.

Asiatic dayflower, Duck Hollow, 8 Aug 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

This week brought rain to our new home north of Schenley Park and continuing drought just south of here. At home on 11 August it rained so hard that a bug took shelter on our window. Its location 70 feet off the ground explains why chimney swifts fly so high.

A bug took shelter from the rain at our new home north of Schenley, 11 Aug 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

While the bug was avoiding rain north of Schenley, no rain fell in the park just a mile away.

There’s still a drought in Schenley Park, 12 Aug 2020 (photo by Kate St. John)

It’s a very localized drought.

(photos by Kate St. John)